Chapter 6

“Mr. Mark Gustave, would you be able to prove where you got the money to buy this car?” The officer stared right into his eyes before questioning.

“There’s no point adding Mr to his name, commissioner, he is just an ordinary thief who stole from the hotel to get this car.” Roger chirped in, “There’s even no point asking him further questions. You should hold the car in your custody, and if in 21 days he is unable to demonstrate where his income comes from, then my team shall sell the car and refund the money he stole.”

Mark had his hands loosely folded behind his back. He had nothing to say, that’s because the money he had used to buy the car was the money he had done several other side businesses. He wouldn’t admit it there because it would involve lots of people.

“I see you ain’t willing to speak,” The commissioner snapped, “In that case, we are going to hold the car and after 21 days, we would sell it out.” Mark gulped hard while hearing this.

Anyway, he was a man who didn’t attach himself to things. He always said to himself that the best gift was peace of mind, if taking the car away from him was gonna bring him peace of mind, then he would let go.

“Officer, walk the young man out, if he is willing to speak up, give him a chance.” The commissioner said, leading to Mark being walked out, while his ex-father-in-law remained in the office.

He got out and glanced at his new car which was taken from him for no reason. He took a deep breath, and after glaring at it for the last time, he walked away.

It took him almost an hour to arrive home. As exhausted as he was, all he had in mind was taking a cold bath and getting to bed. Well, it seems like his plans got shattered as a knock came from the door.

The young man who was in pyjamas sighed before climbing down his bed. The only person that came to his mind was Sarah, she’s the only person who could be knocking at this time of the day.

It took him some seconds to get to the door, and when he opened the door, he wasn’t surprised by the person.

“Hello neighbour,” She said politely.

“Hello,” Mark’s voice was as cold as hell. He didn’t like her that much, so there was no point hiding it.

“Was here at 7 am to check on you, but it seems you weren’t around. Same thing in the afternoon, lucky enough you are around.”

“Is there anything I can do for you? As you see, I’m in pyjamas meaning I was sleeping.” He mentioned.

“Hum, sorry about your sleep but I’d like to know if there’s a way you can get on a phone call with your friend or whoever he is to you. Have tried calling several times but he won’t pick my calls.” She tried to persuade him.

“Sorry, but there’s nothing I can do for you. It’s either you keep calling until he gets to pick up or forget about it.” He grinned.

With his response, Sarah took it at heart. She wasn’t expecting him to be rude. “Your heater has been fixed, I see why you have the effrontery to respond to me in that manner.”

“Excuse you?!” With his eyes widely opened, he questioned her last statement, “Well, I’m not in the mood for that. Before your arrival I was having a sound sleep and I would love to return to that.” As soon as he said that, he closed the door before her.

***

Within the next ten hours, he was up ready to go after a job hunt. What happened the previous day wasn’t supposed to happen this morning, so he had to put up an alarm before going to bed.

Walking across the busy streets of the city, he had just one objective, to get in contact with the manager of the Lloyd hotel to present his CV.

At the entrance of the hotel was a well-built dude who had observed Mark’s movement till the login, where he refused him access.

“And where the hell are you going? Do you think this is a charity house? We do business here, young man.” He snapped.

Looking at the T-shirt he wore, it said ‘security.’ It was no secret that Mark was standing before the chief security.

“I know this isn’t a charity house, I’m here to seek a job. If you permit me in, I'd like to talk with the manager. I have three years experience and I believe that I can help..”

“Keep your years of experience home,” The guard snapped, “Do you take me for a fool? You want to come and beg from our clients. There’s no way that would be possible.”

“I’m not here to beg, you can take my documents and go through.” He proposed but the man rejected his proposal and sent him off with just his look.

The poor Mark left the place and hid himself behind the parking lot. He was determined to meet the manager so as to get a job. He had been waiting until he fell on the CEO himself walking out of the hotel.

The CEO in question was Frederick Lloyd, his father’s old time friend. He usually visited his family when he was still a young man. But he was surprised when he saw him there. Mr. Lloyd is an extremely occupied dude who only shows up when he has an important event.

“Damn, what is he doing here? I wanted to meet with the manager, not him.” Mark stressed out. He could feel clammy sweat, sipping off his pores. He kept observing the middle-aged man as he could tell he was not in his best moments.

“What’s going on? Didn’t you tell the driver that I’ll be needing him at this hour?” He yelled out,

“I’m sorry Sir, but he said he won’t be able to make it because his mother just went into coma.” The guard by his side bowed before stating.

“So he couldn’t drive me because his mother is in coma? Like I care? Inform him that he has lost his job as there’s no point for him coming back. I need a driver to take me around no matter the situation at hand.” He added,

“Wow,” Mark who was eavesdropping behind the car swallowed hard. He was not expecting him to react that way given that the driver had a valid reason for been absent.

“In the next set of minutes, I need a driver, I can’t afford to be late.”

Mark digested every single word he mentioned and was tempted to step out and give out his services. Aside from being a good cook, he was also a good driver. Except that he had one problem, he was scared that Mr. Lloyd was going to remark him at first glance.

“Well, Mark there’s no point hiding. I think that he won’t be able to remark you. It has been years since you two last saw each other. Give yourself a chance and let’s see what happens.” He explained while glaring at himself on the glass door of a Mercedes parked just by the corner.

After a deep breathe, he went out of his hiding position, holding his documents very tight, “Excuse me Sir, I just heard your conversation, I am open to replace your former driver.” He uttered. Although he was scared, he decided to shoot his shot.

“Are you sure you can ride very well? I don’t need a joker.” Mr. Lloyd stressed on his last sentence.

“Yes Sir, I can handle the steering wheel like a professional.”

“Then ride me on,” Came the awaited statement.

-:-

Mark did just what he was assigned, driving Mr. Lloyd to the avenue. Where he stationed the car, there were other cars parked, making it look like a meeting amongst the various CEO’s

He could spot Roger Carter’s car, Hailey’s car and also Dave’s car. This had his adrenaline pumping with deep pressure. He was scared to fall on his father since this must be a meeting for the various hotel owners.

Llyod climbed down the car and the next thing he did was walk to the avenue. The young Mark was curious to know what he would probably be discussing with the others.

“I think I should find out what is going on there. I need to know if Llyod is indeed my father’s friend, as he claims,” The dude was on time when he heard his ex-father-in-law talking about dissolving Blue and Rain and creating a new hotel that was going to surpass that.

“You are right, Roger. I think George Gustave has been in power for long, his hotels are the ones topping the charts. If we can sabotage it then we would definitely have a large market for our upcoming hotels.” Lloyd mentioned.

“Yeah, and this is just the right time to put that in practice. He is already an old man, as such he doesn’t have enough time to check up on all the activities. His heir is nowhere to be found,”

“He ran so many years ago, and I think with his absence, we can get to action, while praying that he never comes back.” Roger; the managing director of Blue and Rain hotels said with no atom of pity.

Mark had swallowed hard while hearing his supposed father’s best friend plotting with an employee of Blue and Rain hotel.